Torino Porta Nuova station is currently the main railway station of Turin. It is the third busiest station in Italian for passenger flow after Rome Termini and Milan Central, with about 192,000 journeys per day and 70 million travellers a year and a total of about 350 trains per day.[1] It is a terminal station, with trains arriving perpendicularly to the facade. The station is centrally located at the intersection of the streets of Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Piazza Carlo Felice. A station on the Turin Subway (Metropolitana di Torino) has been built under the main station.

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History

Construction of the station began in 1861 under the direction of Alexander Mazzucchetti. The original structure included a clear distinction between the departure area (near Via Nizza) and the arrival area (near Via Sacchi). The departure area consisted of a large saloon, decorated with columns, stucco work and frescoes depicting the crests of 135 Italian cities showing their distance in kilometers from Turin. This building housed the ticket office, three waiting rooms (one for each of the three classes of railway travel), the Royal Hall and a cafe restaurant.

The station was officially inaugurated for the first time on 4 February 2009: in fact it was first opened to the public in December 1864—although the work was completed in 1868—without an official opening ceremony, partly because the capital of Italy had just been moved from Turin to Florence.[2] Enzo Ferrari 'frequented the Bar Del Nord, at Porta Nuova" where he met those connected with automobiles and racing when he was working in Torino as a young man, circa 1918-1919. Whether the bar is still there or not needs verification.

A station on the Turin Subway (Metropolitana di Torino) opened under the main station on 5 October 2007.

Upgrading

The station has been included in the program of upgrading of the main Italian stations, by Grandi Stazioni, a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato. In the first stage of regeneration completed on 4 February 2009, 44,146 square metres of the 92,747 square meter area of the station buildings was redeveloped. The areas allocated to services for passengers, dining, shopping, culture and leisure was increased considerably.

Structure

The station is built on several levels. An underground level is occupied by local divisions of FS and businesses. The platforms are on the ground floor, along with passenger lounges and associated services for passengers and commercial activities. On the upper floors are offices and a post office.